Stowaways
by stringertheory
Summary: We hold onto keepsakes so we don't let go of memories. The crew hold on to Wash the best way they know how.


**Spoilers/Timeline:** Post BDM, spoilers for Serenity 

There was an unspoken agreement among the crew concerning Wash's dinosaurs.

They all abided by it, whether consciously or not. No one ever discussed it, but they each conformed to the rule in their own way.

Zoe often came to the bridge with a report or to check on things or even to fly for a bit, but she never bothered the dinosaurs unless she was alone. Even then, it was only the faintest brush of fingertips, like remembering by touch, across the back of one or another. She would give them a brush and then stand quietly, gazing out into the endless Black.

When she was particularly bored or restless, Kaylee took to cleaning, and no area of the ship was safe. On the bridge, however, things always looked the same. The only sign that anything had changed was that the dinosaurs no longer stood on dusty ground.

Mal caught Jayne on the bridge one night, playing with the figures much as Wash had once done. Drawn to the area by the odd noises wafting down the hall, he had found Jayne - well on his way to drunk and slouched down in the pilot's seat - with a full-blown battle scene strewn across the console. After watching the display for a few stunned moments, Mal had cleared his throat and made his presence known. Startled, Jayne had fallen out of the seat, scattering dinosaurs everywhere. He had muttered some incomprehensible excuse to cover his embarrassment and beat a wobbly retreat to the safety of the cargo bay, but not before carefully placing the figures back on the control panel, exactly where Mal knew they had been before.

During her time flying, River would periodically examine the figures, inspecting each one closely before returning them to their places. Sometimes she would speak their scientific names out loud, almost delicately, as she turned them over in her hands. Mal saw her at it one day. Without looking up, she had responded to the question in his gaze.

"They keep him here."

And they did. They were reminders, mementos, talismans. Mal couldn't deny it; he'd been affected, too. Sometimes when he was alone on the bridge, he would find himself throwing remarks their way, half expecting Wash's voice to answer with a familiar quip. More often than not, he would wish wildly on them during particularly difficult landings or take-offs, as if some of the brilliant skill and luck their owner had possessed had been left in them, like an imprint.

The dinosaurs were always there, same as the controls and the seats and the vast darkness of space. They could be touched, moved, talked to, or whatever else so long as they were put back exactly as they had been found, exactly where Wash had left them. And they always were.

So when something changed, Mal noticed.

The first instance had been after their first big post-Operative run. They had been planet-side for nigh on a week, taking a much needed rest after completing a complicated - though profitable - job and spending a few months in the Black. Repairs were seen to, leisures enjoyed, and plenty of time wasted before Mal - new job in hand - called the crew home again.

When he entered the bridge for takeoff, Mal immediately knew something was wrong. There was something different about the room, something _off_, that he struggled to put his finger on. He lowered himself into the pilot's chair and threw a worried glance toward River, who was adjusting controls from her position in the co-pilot's seat.

"Everything okay, Little Albatross?"

"Fine and ready to go, Captain," she replied lightly, a small smile curving the corners of her mouth as Mal continued to scan the room for the anomaly he couldn't locate.

After one final look around, Mal shrugged off the strange sensation and turned to his own preparations, ready to chalk up the feeling to being on solid ground for such a spell after so long in the air. It was then that he spotted the figure. There, half tucked behind the triceratops perched on the top of the console, was a dinosaur that did not belong. Mal did a quick head count to verify - there was a new passenger on the bridge. Reaching carefully around the front figurine, he plucked up the infiltrator for closer inspection. To Mal, it looked like a miniature version of the T-Rex that loomed in the corner of the console.

"River, did you put this over here?"

She answered without looking up from her controls. "No." She glanced his way as she brought the ship away from the dock, that same small smile on her lips. "It found its own way."

"River - "

"I did not bring it onto the ship."

Mal wasn't entirely sure she was telling the truth, but decided to let it go for the time being. He returned the figure to where he had found it and stood.

"Okay. You got this?" he asked, gesturing out the windows and turning to leave.

She nodded. "Go check the cargo."

"I'm going to g- " he turned back sharply to catch her grinning widely at him. He shook his head with a small chuckle. "Yeah. Cargo."

He forgot about the stowaway until a few days later. He was checking things on the bridge when Zoe joined him for a few minutes. They talked a bit about the plan for the next day, when they would arrive at their destination, before she bid him goodnight. As she turned to head back to her bunk, Mal stopped her. Picking up the new figurine, he handed it to her.

"You recognize this?"

"No, sir." She turned the dinosaur over in her hands. "It's not one of his."

"I think it is." Mal caught Zoe's questioning look. "Appears somebody is adding to the collection."

"Any idea who?"

Mal shook his head. "No idea."

Zoe placed the figurine back on the console, an odd look on her face. "It's a mite unusual, but I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"No, don't think it is."

Zoe gave him a smile. "'Night, sir."

"'Night, Zoe."

Mal asked the rest of the crew about their new member, but everyone denied any knowledge of how the figure got on the ship. River, for her part, feigned ignorance of the entire ordeal. Mal decided to let it go, figuring it was a one-time occurrence.

Then, a few months later, another dinosaur appeared.

Again, it showed up after they had spent some time on a decent-sized planet, this one at the outer rim of the Core. Again, no one seemed to know how the thing had made it onto the ship. The way everyone acted, it was if the figurine had just magically transported itself onto the bridge to join its fellow fake dinosaurs. Faced with proclamations of innocence all around (and absolutely no help from the resident psychic), Mal was forced to let the incident slide. He didn't let it worry him too much. After all, what was a new dinosaur or two here or there going to matter? The crew was happy, they were all safe, and if dinosaurs amused them, he wouldn't complain.

Then a third one showed up.

From the sly grins he sometimes saw out of the corner of his eye, Mal knew it hadn't been the same person adding to the collection every time. He also knew, somewhat instinctively, that no one was actually talking about it. This wasn't a coordinated attack on his bridge. His crew was using their hard-earned - and scant - coin to buy dinosaurs. Little, plastic _dinosaurs_. He wasn't even sure where they found the things.

The third time around he didn't say anything to anyone, didn't acknowledge the new addition in any way. He carried on as if nothing was awry, as if his console wasn't being taken over by plastic models of long-dead creatures. He decided to be a bit more savvy about things.

When they finally took another break, Mal was ready. He watched the bridge like a hawk the entire time they were planet-side, sure to check it regularly and more or less banning the crew from the ship with a combination of orders to "get some fresh air" and complaints that he needed "alone time" after their last trip. As they took to the air again eight days later, Mal was peculiarly pleased to find that their numbers had not changed. Somewhat smug, he left the bridge to River's care and headed off to find Zoe. The smugness vanished when he returned to the bridge the next day to find a luridly orange stegosaurus staring at him from the console.

Mal sank into the pilot's chair with a sigh. He picked up the dinosaur and frowned at it a bit.

"You better not cause any trouble."

The figure stared back at him blankly.

Each time they made a long enough stop, a new dinosaur would appear. It happened again and again, half a dozen times. Then, after a particularly lengthy rest due to some particularly lengthy repairs, _Serenity _took to the air with no new passengers. Mal waited a few days for a new console companion to appear, but none did. Then he did a recount of how many new additions they had received so far.

Six. Six new ones. He supposed it was his turn.

It took him a while, but eventually he found a small, dark purple T. Rex in the back of a dingy shop on a perimeter Core planet. Mal placed his addition in with the rest of the collection and then headed to the galley for breakfast.

Everyone was eating in comfortable silence when he walked in and joined them. Zoe poured him some coffee as he sat down. As he filled his plate, Mal spoke.

"We have seven new passengers," he said gruffly. "I think that's enough. Any more decide to join us, they'll have to pay their way."

He glanced up in time to see everyone looking a bit sheepish. Zoe passed him a plate of toast.

"Think you're right, sir. Seven is enough."

Mal gave her a nod as he added two pieces of toast to his plate. "Besides, we add any more, I ain't going to be able to see my damn console."

"Hell, Mal," Jayne said from the other end, "ain't like you actually do anything. River's the one that flies this here ship."

"Jayne's got a point, sir," Zoe said blandly.

"I take care of my Captainly duties from that console, and I need to at least be able to see it," Mal protested.

"Of course you do," Inara agreed, handing him a bowl. "Have some oatmeal."

Mal cut her a look but took the proffered dish just the same. He exchanged a glance with Zoe as he spooned oatmeal onto his plate. She gave him a small smile and, to his surprise, the slightest hint of a wink. Mal gave her a nod in return and tucked into his breakfast.


End file.
